Sharp Scratch

Working with patients

Every day hundreds of patients give up their time to help train medical students. Some work closely with medical schools, as expert patients who lead hands on teaching sessions, or helping develop the curriculum. As medics, we rely on the good will of patients for our learning. But what's it really like to be a patient who's used as a learning opportunity? This week, we speak to three patients who have experienced just this - and find out the key things to avoid doing and saying!
Our expert guests and contributors:
Amy Price is a research scientist at Stanford University and part of The BMJ Patient advisory panel. She has worked closely with medical students in a number of different settings.
Mike Scott is a member of the Patient Educator team at King's College London School of Medicine, where he's been examined by many medical students as part of his work.
Sarah Markham is a mathematician, a researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience. She's a member of The BMJ Patient advisory panel and has lived experience of inpatient mental health services, throughout which she interacted with many medical students.
If you'd like to read Ruth Tapp's piece that Anna mentions, you can find it on BMJ.com

Working with the multidisciplinary team

We've spoken before on Sharp Scratch about how med students and junior docs can make friends with more senior doctors (like in episode two, when we talked about referrals). But there's a host of other professionals that work together to make patient care safe and effective - the multidisciplinary team - and we want to be friends with them too.
As a medical student you often only get a short amount of time on a new ward, so this week we're talking about how we can make sure we build good relationships with the rest of the team, as quickly as possible.
Our expert guests and contributors:
Helga Lawrence is a student mental health nurse at Anglia Ruskin University. This week we chat with her about the annoyance of having medical students on the ward, and how a student nurse could be your best friend on placement.
Wendy Preston is a Consultant Nurse in respiratory medicine and is Head of Nursing Practice at The Royal College of Nursing. You can find her on Twitter.
Carolyn Cairns was previously a manager in the NHS, but is now a second year medical student! She's on Twitter.
If you're interested in the work done by Civility Saves Lives, you can find out more at their website.

New year resolutions

January is traditionally a time when people make all sorts of promises to themselves - often around food, exercise or work. But sometimes these New Year's Resolutions might put us at risk of putting ourselves under too much pressure. In this episode, we discuss the resolutions you might like to make to protect your physical and mental wellbeing in 2020.
Our expert guests and contributors:
Abi Rimmer is Careers Editor at The BMJ and has been heavily involved in The BMJ's wellbeing campaign. You can find her on Twitter.
Juliet Laycock is a surgical trainee, who provides us with some advice about making the most of a long commute.
Abbie Tutt is a graduate entry medical student in Warwick, who has an unusual source of support at university! She's on Twitter and also runs a blog.
Isra Husain is a final year medical student in London who loves to sing! You can follow her on Twitter.
To read the article Abi mentioned about gardening, take a look at BMJ Careers' 'Why I' series.

Doctor’s first Christmas

Christmas bells are ringing! It's a day that comes for all those who work shifts: your first holiday season at work.
How can you bring a little festive cheer to the ward? We hear from some clinicians about their working Christmases and discuss how you can make the most of the holiday period in the hospital, as we try to convince Declan that working Christmas Day might not be as bad as he thinks...
Our expert guests and contributors:
Jo Talbot Bowen is a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist with a special interest in stress in clinicians.
Sally El-Ghazali is an anaesthetics trainee who has actually chosen to work over Christmas in the past!
Rahul Pankhania is a surgical trainee whose Christmas day on the ward was once saved by a gift of a mince pie...

Gallows humour

It's happened to every medic: relatives start telling you off for your dinnertime topic choices; non-medical friends probe and then sit in shock as you tell your latest morbid hospital joke. Some people - like Adam Kay - have even made a career of it. How much is too much gallows humour? And in a time of overstretched resources and clinician burnout, is dark humour an important way of bringing together people who have seen the best and worst of the healthcare system?
Our expert guests and contributors:
Benji Waterstones is a senior psychiatric trainee and stand up comedian. He's performed his comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe in the past, and joins us this week to unpick the art of medical comedy.
Brian Goldman is an emergency physician, author and radio host. He wrote a book called 'The Secret Language of Doctors' and hosts show 'White Coat Black Art' on Canadian Broadcasting Company Radio 1
www.bmj.com/sharpscratch

Making ends meet

Sharp Scratch is all about bringing the hidden curriculum to light - so it's time to get real about another hidden aspect of medicine: the financial commitments of studying and being a junior doc. Hidden costs are everywhere: so how do you anticipate them and how can you weather financial storms? Join the team as we hear from med students and junior docs about their moey worries, and quiz our expert guest about where we can get help.
Our expert guests and contributors:
We heard from some medical students and junior docs:
Nishita Gadi Instagram: nishitagadix
Oliver Arscott Twitter: @OArscott
Pedra Rabiee Twitter: @pedrarabiee
Lewis Hughes: @LewyHughey
Kathryn Runswick is an employment advisor for the BMA and Liverpool Medical School, and the mother of a newly qualified doctor. For advice on managing your money at medical school, the BMA produces gudies which can be found here https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/work-life-support/your-finances-and-protection/medical-student-finance. The Royal Medical Benevolent Fund also provides money advice and signposting to hardship funds https://rmbf.org/.

What you can do on social media

Med students and doctors of the 21st century often use social media for work and leisure. We all hear the same spiel from our med schools about being safe online - but social media can also be used for good! Join Laura, Anna, Ryhan, and our expert guest Dr Dominique Thompson as we discuss all the 'dos' of social media, rather than the 'don'ts.'
Tell us what you think about the episode and your ideas for topics to cover later in the series by leaving a review or by using #SharpScratch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For more on the podcast, including how to follow Laura, Anna, Ryhan and Dominique on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch.

Documenting death

As med students and junior doctors, we encounter death more than the general population. But what do you actually do when you're called to the ward to see a patient who has died - and what happens after you've confirmed a patient death?
Join Laura, Anna, Declan and our special guest, Robert Cast, anatomical pathological technologist, as we take a dive into the world beyond the wards, to find out how we can keep caring for our patients after they die.
Tell us what you think about the episode and your ideas for topics to cover later in the series by leaving a review or by using #SharpScratch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For more on the podcast, including how to follow Laura, Anna, Declan and Robert on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch.

Coping with death

As med students and junior doctors, we'll encounter death more than the general population. So how do we cope with the emotional strain this can bring? How do you support colleagues who are grieving? And is it ever ok to cry in front of a patient?
Join medical students Laura and Ryhan, and junior doctor Chidera as they talk about coping with death, and hear from Stephen Barclay, GP and palliative care doctor, and who taught Laura and Chidera about death and dying.
Tell us what you think about the episode and your ideas for topics to cover later in the series by leaving a review or by using #SharpScratch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For more on the podcast, including how to follow Laura, Chidera, Ryhan and Stephen on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch.

Being a sick doctor

Last time we talked about getting ill, and taking some sick days - but what happens when you realise that your illness doesn’t have an end date, and if you’re going to return to work at all, then you’re going to return to work with your illness.
What is it like? How to do you talk to colleagues or patients about it. Can you come to terms with yourself as a doctor with a long term illness? And how can you access support to continue working?
Join medical students Laura and Anna, and new doctor Declan as they talk about being ill, and quiz Anne de Bono President of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine about adapting your ways of working.
Tell us what you think about the episode and your ideas for topics to cover later in the series by leaving a review or by using #SharpScratch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
For more on the podcast, including how to follow Laura, Anna, Declan, and Anne on social media, visit www.bmj.com/sharpscratch.